Historical Fantasy: A History, Part Two: The Present

Welcome to Part II of “Historical Fantasy: A History.” In Part I of this article, I presented a brief overview of the historical fantasy subgenre, offering a bit of background as well as detailing how it is currently experiencing a boom both commercially and critically.

This week, in an attempt to help the eager student of historical fantasy (in my imagination, he is named “Dudley” and wears a bow-tie) achieve a solid grounding in the classics, I present a suggested reading list by historical era. You’ll find some works that are indisputably seminal (e.g., Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley) as well as some lesser known works that bring something fresh and unique to the field. For brevity’s sake, in the case of extended series, I have generally just listed the first book. I am sure you’re all amply capable of finding the rest for yourselves.

I have also matched up these historical eras to a current list of “-punk” categories taken from the excellent work of author J.E. Remy (http://diewachen.com/2007/08/all-sorts-of-punk.html.). Per Remy, these works are best classed as “Timepunk”:

“Since the development of steampunk, several terms have been created to specify the time period and divergent themes of ‘gonzo-historical’ fiction. Timepunk, a term coined for the GURPS roleplaying game Steampunk, by William H. Stoddard, is arguably the most apt for describing the anachrono-futurist genre as a whole. In such tales, technologies stagnate around a specific technology—bronze, steam, diesel—which then becomes the major contributing factor to the advancement of humankind. Science advances, but only through the use of the specific technology, and the time period where the technology originated determines fashion, artistic styles, and religious belief.”

Using this definition as a guide, you’ll quickly discover that while I’ve listed a “-punk” (in fact, usually several) for each era, that does not mean that all the books in the suggested reading for that era are gonzo-historical or anarcho-futuristic. You’ll have to sort out which is which for yourself, Dudley. Now straighten your bow tie and get reading!

Next week, in Part III, I will look at the future of historical fantasy, with a focus on up-and-coming authors and new works to watch for. I may also attempt a brief deconstruction of the current cultural factors driving the historical fantasy’s resurgence in popularity, unless I have a headache, in which case I will probably lie down with a cold compress instead.

M.K. Hobson is the author of THE NATIVE STAR, a historical fantasy romance. Set in an 1876 America where magic is a mostly-accepted part of society, it is currently available at fine booksellers nationwide. Please click on the image to learn more.